Central Square Foundation
Central Square Foundation (CSF) is a non-profit organization established in 2012, headquartered in New Delhi. It works to improve learning outcomes for children in government and low-cost private schools across India, with a focus on children from low-income backgrounds. CSF operates as a catalytic enabler not running schools directly, but working with governments, researchers, and the education ecosystem to design and drive system-level reforms that last.
Over 13 years, CSF has become one of India's most influential education policy and practice organizations, collaborating with 11 state governments on statewide Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) missions and working across 14 states in total.
India has a foundational learning crisis. According to ASER 2024, 79% of Grade 3 students in rural government schools cannot read Grade 2 text, and 72.9% cannot do Grade 2 level arithmetic. Children who miss these basics by Grade 3 rarely catch up and risk dropping out altogether. CSF believes solving this FLN by Grade 3 for every child is the single most important lever for long-term equity and growth.
What CSF Does
- Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN): CSF's flagship area. It supports state governments in designing and running state-owned FLN missions aligned with the national NIPUN Bharat initiative. CSF sets direction at the national level, provides technical and management support to state teams, creates public goods (tools, frameworks, resources) freely available to all practitioners, and drives district-level implementation through District Project Management Units (DPMUs). CSF has worked with 11 state governments on this.
- EdTech & AI: CSF works to harness technology for student learning, both at home and in school. Key initiatives include: TicTacLearn (10,000+ free curriculum-aligned animated videos in 5 Indian languages, created with Google.org, adopted by 10 states); AI Samarth (AI-powered tools for teachers and students); Bharat Survey for EdTech (BaSE) (a national survey to understand EdTech usage and effectiveness); EdTech Tulna (an evaluation index for EdTech solutions, built with IIT Bombay); and support to government EdTech procurement in Haryana and Madhya Pradesh. CSF also supports at-home learning tools like Rocket Learning, Top Parent, and ConveGenius.
- Early Childhood Education (ECE): CSF treats ECE as "step zero" of FLN the foundation before formal schooling. It builds evidence and advocacy for prioritizing quality, evidence-based approaches to early learning across India.
- School Governance: CSF works to build an enabling environment in both government and private schools supporting better school management, teacher support systems, and accountability structures that allow learning outcomes to improve sustainably.
- High Potential Students (HPS): Launched in 2025, this is a new workstream focused on identifying and supporting bright students from underserved backgrounds before they are left behind. India's school system has ~25 crore children, many of whom are high-potential but lack access to the right support, opportunities, or identification before Grade 10. CSF aims to reach 1,00,000 such students by 2030 through STEM and social-emotional learning programs starting from Grade 7, partnerships with model schools and states, and access to olympiads and high-growth career pathways. Tarang STEM Accelerator is a key initiative under this program.
CSF's work is evidence-led and system-focused. Every intervention is grounded in rigorous research and aims to build government ownership so that improvements outlast CSF's involvement. Rather than parallel delivery systems, CSF embeds itself within government structures and works to change how the system itself functions from curriculum design and teacher training to assessment and district management.
CSF actively hires people passionate about education reform prior education sector experience is not required. Roles span policy, research, program management, EdTech, communications, and more.
